If you owned a PlayStation Portable in the late 2000s, there is a very high probability that the phrase “Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon” is permanently burned into your subconscious. Spearheaded by Patapon creator Hiroyuki Kotani alongside veteran composer Kemmei Adachi, Ratatan carries that exact musical DNA forward—except this time, it trades rigid single-track marching for frenetic, real-time roguelike combat and four-player online co-op.
Now available on Xbox Series X|S for $34.99 (published by Game Source Entertainment), Ratatan is not just a nostalgic victory lap. It is an ambitious, rhythm-driven beat-’em-up that successfully modernizes the formula.
Marching to Your Own Beat
At its core, Ratatan blends precision rhythm inputs with direct action-RPG controls. Unlike traditional rhythm games where you simply hit notes falling down a highway, here your rhythmic inputs dictate army commands. Keeping time with the music directs your swarming legions of little critter minions—known as Cobuns—to advance, strike, defend, or unleash special maneuvers.
Where Ratatan innovates most heavily over its inspiration is free movement. Rather than locking you to a static side-scrolling rail, you directly steer your chosen hero avatar across the arena while keeping the beat. It introduces a tense, satisfying layer of mechanical multitasking: your thumb has to internalize the tempo while your eyes track telegraphed boss attacks, hazard zones, and positioning. Miss the cadence, and your Cobuns stumble into disarray; nail the timing continuously, and your squad enters a fever state that fills the screen with hyperactive mayhem.
The Roguelike Twist and Visual Bedlam
Layering a roguelike loop onto a rhythm game is a bold design choice, but it gives Ratatan serious replay value. Every run forces you to build out synergies on the fly, picking between randomized boons, elemental weapon augmentations, stat boosts, and army buffs.
Because the game frequently features upward of 100 characters clashing in massive melees, visual clarity could easily have been a disaster. Fortunately, the vibrant, crisp 2D art pop maintains readability even when the screen is an explosion of animated chaos. Boss encounters—ranging from towering sea monsters to heavily fortified war machines—demand both rhythmic discipline and quick spatial dodges, ensuring runs never feel entirely identical.
Earworms and Sound Design
A rhythm game lives and dies by its soundtrack, and Kemmei Adachi knocks this out of the park. The tracks are relentless earworms, blending tribal chants, brass-heavy funk, bouncy pop, and driving percussion that dynamically ramps up in intensity as your combos build.
The audio feedback loop is incredibly sharp. Sound effects cut cleanly through the mix, giving you clear auditory cues when your inputs land squarely on-beat versus when you drag or rush. If you play on a modern TV setup, running the game’s latency calibration tool on first boot is an absolute must—especially since Series X|S runs at a rock-solid, fluid presentation where every millisecond of timing counts.
Multiplayer: Four-Player Chaotic Harmony
While solo runs offer a tight, focused challenge, Ratatan truly shines when you bring friends along. Supporting up to four-player cross-platform online co-op, team runs amplify the insanity exponentially. Coordinating rhythm chains alongside three other players—each running their own specialized hero and army composition—turns boss arenas into a jubilant, cartoonish warzone.
Having Xbox Play Anywhere support out of the box is another huge plus: buying the game gives you access across both Xbox Series consoles and PC with shared cloud saves and achievement progress.
Minor Stumbles
The learning curve can be steep for newcomers. Tracking attack telegraphs while simultaneously maintaining an unbroken four-beat rhythm input takes practice, and during early runs, the penalty for losing your rhythm can feel unforgiving against hard-hitting elite mobs. Additionally, those who prefer pure menu-driven strategy might take some time adjusting to the manual analog movement.
Final Verdict
Ratatan pulls off a rare feat: it honors the spirit of a beloved handheld classic while radically expanding its scope into a full-fledged, modern action roguelike. Between its infectious soundtrack, addictive loop, and delightfully chaotic co-op, it’s one of the most uniquely charming additions to the Xbox library this year.
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